*Page Filth '-Student Agivities
1.1
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Wednesday, Septemier 2, 1970
Dail :
79
years
of
'Write
On'
tradit ion
Many things happen around
the clock at The Daily.
At 2:03 a.m. (three minutes
after the final page is locked)
for example, one often finds an
intense bridge game going on
amid empty Coke bottles and
half-assembled n e w s stories
from the Associated Press.
Or a cursory glance around
the 420 Maynard St. office gat:
8:15 p.m. is likely -ree'al a.
brief struggle between hun-
gry staff members ove tli'vlast
piece of a sausage and green
pepper pizza. And, on occasion-
al weekends, the Daily Libels
- an ad hoc, football team -
soundly defeats the UAC mug-
gers and other over-confident
:challengers. 4.
But much of t h e time, we
spend our hours publishing six.
newspapers weekly from Sep-
tember to April, and f i v e a
week during the summer.
The Daily is the only morning
paper in Ann Arbor, and has
the latest deadline in the state.
And we're so reliable, pther
newspapers have been known to
print our mistakes.
The bulk of Daily stories
come from the campus or the
cityran4' ag6, written by Daily
staff ;nIembs of a 11 shapes,
sizes !-and abilities. We .also
print national and world news,
relying:,on our Associated Press
machines, college wire services,
and the reporters. we occasion-
ally send to s ic h places as
Lansing, Washington and Chi-
cago:
If you can-hold a- pencil, read
fronJeft to tight, apply rubber
cement on paper in a straight
horizontal line, take pictures, or
answer phones ,politely, we can
use you.
There is plenty to do here,
and you work your way literal-
'l f ro in the: bottom up. All
"edit staff" -newcomers - who
work on the news pages and
the editorial page - are des-
ignated ' trainees-," and, re-
gardless'=of previous experience,
start their Daily careers in the
shop on the first floor proof-
reading stories for the n e x t
day's paper before they move to
the second 'floor for more ad-
vanced work.
After becoming sufficiently
familiar with the standard copy
correction code, trainees take on
more creative endeavors -
writing catchy, pithy, appropos
headlines for stories. Essential-
ly, this means finding five or
six precise words to sum up 30
inches of copy.
It is, indeed, a test of ingen-
uity - Roget's Thesaurus is
banned from the premises,.al-
though in a tight spot consul-
tation with Webster's Diction-
ary is permitted.
After a few days of being a
bonafied trainee, the real stuff
begins. You'll get y o u r first
story assignment complete with
names of people to see, sugges-
tions of questions to ask, and
an idea or two on how to con-
struct the finished product.
When you have demonstrated
the talent you always knew was
there, you will be promoted to
the position of Assistant Night
Editor (ANE). This entitles you
to assist the Night Editor, who
is responsible for producing the
news pages on a particular
night.
ANE work, although similar
to trainee proofreading and
headline writing, involves sig-
nificantly greater responsibility.
In addition, ANE's get to dele-
gate their past duties to other
trainees who are just beginning.
Copy editing lies in store for
promoted ANE's. This involves
going through national n e w s
from the Associated Press and
condensing important stories
into four or five inch summar-
ies. Copy Editors also stay on
hand to help Night Editors edit
local stories.
But the real fun comes when
you become an actual N i g h t
Editor and the front page (as
well as a salary increase) be-
longs to you. After a brief train-
ing period during which y o u
are assisted by a senior Night
Editor, you take over the re-
sponsibility for the copy, lay-
out, a n d production of page
one.
It becomes very gratifying (at
least at first) to produce the
final, complete page. And you
get your name as Night Editor
on the editorial page so every-
one knows who to congratulate
or blame.
If you're still with us by the
t i m e you're second-semester
junior, chances are good you
will become a Senior Editor -
with the responsibility of run-
ning the paper, making editor-
ial and news decisions and out-
ranking other staff members
for the last piece of pizza.
The Board in Control of Stu-
dent Publications used to have
the official say over the ap-
pointment of senior editors, but
the Regents eliminated that
function of the board in Jan-
uary, 1969. Senior editors are
now chosen by the outgoing edi-
tors.
With the responsibility of a
$300,000 annual budget, along
w i t h increasing production
costs, the business staff is ini-
tiating new means of approach-'
ing the Ann Arbor advertising
p
'V
I O
o .-.ad.11-6 i
-Daily-Sara Krulwich
Daily Libels triumph as always
-Daily-Sara Krulwich
The Daily Staff: A motley crew
TEXTBOO KS
UP TO %OFF
U I CII'S
C
market and is revamping its in-
ternal procedures.
The 50 or so students on the
business staff spend as little as
a few hours per week to several
hours per day at The Daily, de-
pending on their ranks and in-
clinations.
Over the past two years, the
business staff has been institut-
ing a new system, whereby ad-
vertising salesmen are paid on a
commission basis according to
the number of advertising inch-
es sold each week. Other busi-
ness staff members are paid as
nominally as is the rest of the
Daily staff.
The business staff inhabits
the building during the fday, and-
is replaced (gradually) by the
edit staff around 4 p.m. Few of
its members are actually busi-
ness majors, and eyve n fewer
have had previous experience.
TwV. RENTALS
NEJAC T.V.
662-56f1
The only important require-
ment for being on the Photo
Staff is an ability to take good
'pictures. There is killer compe-
tition to be ones of the chosen
few on this staff, because it's
the staff with "class," some say.
The fringe benefits for Daily
photographers a r e extensive,
or, in other words, truly fine.
There is a darkroom, sideline
football passes, and, every now
and then, a trip to somef far
away place to cover a demor}-
stration or campaign.
If you're an undergraduate
with your own camera and con-
fidence in your ability as a pho-
tographer, you're eligible to join
the staff.
And if you're a woman, don't
be afraid to try and join. The
Daily Photo Staffsupports Wo-
men's, Lib.
The sports staff is run much
like the e d i t staff, although
freshmen become Night Editors
- responsible for t h e sports
page - much earlier than their
counterparts on the other side
of the; room. And some claim
the sports staff is more "radi-.
cal" than the rest of the paper
- although that point is open
to dispute. For more informa-
tion on joining the sports staff,
4
I
The Student's Bookstore
Martin .Hirschman Judy Sarasohn
Editor Managing Editor
see the story on page 7 of the
sports section of this supple-
ment.
Unlike most college newspa-
pers, the Daily is run entirely
by students. The University
does own the building and
equipment, and the members of
the production crew (who op-
erate the linotype machines.
Goss Unitube press, etc.) a r e
professionals. But all decisions
are m a d e exclusively by stu-
dents.
420 Maynard is really a very
nice place. We have lots of pa-
per, pencils and the only nickel
Coke machine in the state.
We can't promise you Mae
West, but when you get to Ann
Arbor, why don't you come up
and see us some time?
I
,l
Camera Shops
AV
Whatever your photographic
needs may be-
WE CAN SERVE YOU!
Authorized Dealer for most
nationally advertised merchandise
Cameras repaired in our own
modern repair shop
PROMPT PHOTO FINISHING
STOP IN AND BROWSE
over the most complete stock of photo equipment
in the Ann Arbor area!
Ii
LZ
ca mra hop
ImII
II